"Buddha often taught through parables, and this story shows us how to appreciate what is most precious. One day, a wealthy official was riding in his carriage on his way to conduct important business when he noticed a beggar lying in the roadside ditch. Feeling pity for the man, the official asked his driver to stop the horses so that he could speak with the beggar. It turned out that the man was so drunk, he couldn't be roused. Even so, the official felt compassion and wanted to help the poor guy out of his poverty. He reached into his purse and pulled out a precious gem, thinking to himself, 'Although this gift is relatively easy for me to give because of my good fortune and wealth, it could make all the difference in the world for this poor man. With this gem he will be able to lift himself out of these shabby and miserable conditions and buy a life of comfort and security.' To make sure that the gem wouldn't be lost, the official tucked it deep into the corner of a pocket on the inside of the beggar's shirt. Then he went on his way.
"As the story goes, years later these two men meet again along the same road. The official is riding in his carriage when he spots the poor man walking along the road, still dressed in the rags of a beggar. The official stops his carriage and calls out, 'What happened? When I found you lying in the ditch some years ago, I gave you a gem of such great value, you could have easily bought your way out of your poverty and suffering. Why are you still living the life of a beggar?' The man was startled and confused by the words, and he replied, 'What are you talking about? I don't know of any such stone.' So the official climbed down from his carriage and reached inside the beggar's shirt. Pulling out the gem, he said, 'Here it is. It's been in your pocket all these years!' The beggar was stunned. All he had ever known was a life of such terrible poverty, he couldn't be sure he would live to see the next day. Suddenly he realized that he could have been living a comfortable and secure life all along, if only he had found the gem inside his pocket.
"If we take this story as a koan, we can appreciate it from many different perspectives. What is the most precious gem in the world? Certainly this life is precious — the opportunity to be alive is an irreplaceable gift — but can we really appreciate this life for what it is? If we want to find the precious gem in our life, where do we begin? Where do we look? Should we look outside somewhere, or should we look inside? And what does it mean to look inside? Are we really going to find something of value in our body, perhaps in our head or our belly? By pursuing these questions with your whole body and mind, you can discover the truth of the Dharma for yourself. You, too, can realize what the Buddha realized. But no matter how hard you try, you will never find what is truly precious if you look outside of yourself. You have to look within.”
